Last Posting Dates for Christmas 2017

Christmas is a festival which is enthusiastically celebrated all over the world. We all get very excited at that time of the year when the Christmas is around the corner. But, we also need to keep in mind that Christmas comes along with a long list of holidays. Hence, for all of us it becomes essential that along with the preparation of the festivities and the celebration, we also need to do the planning of the services that are dependent on the public organizations. For example, if we want to send some shipments or important mails, we need to pre-plan the same and hand over to the postal or package delivery companies much before the holidays of the Christmas begin.

That’s why we are here to help you and make you aware of the last posting dates for Christmas of this year or the impending Christmas 2017. With this information, you will be able to know the cut-off date and plan when to send your shipment so that it gets delivered to the other party well on time.

Last Posting Dates for Christmas 2017:

So, as we discussed above, it is very important for us to know the last post day before Christmas 2017 in the case we are planning to send our Christmas cards or gifts to our friends and family. We will provide information both for the UK and the overseas, here.

It is good that Royal Mail has announced its Christmas and New Year last posting dates. This has helped us know well in advance the dates, and we can plan accordingly. If you send your Christmas greeting cards and packages before the given deadline, you can remain assured that the recipient will surely receive the delivery of the same well on time and that too before the day of the Christmas.

The below-given list includes the last December postage dates for the delivery, order, and postage in the country of Britain and other countries all across the world.

The last Christmas posting dates for the UK for Christmas 2017 are mentioned below:

Date

Day

Service

20th Dec

Wednesday

2nd class and Royal Mail signed for the 2nd class

21st Dec

Thursday

1st class, Royal Mail signed for 1st class, and Royal Mail special delivery guaranteed

22nd Dec

Friday

Royal Mail special delivery and Royal Mail special delivery Saturday

December 20th, 2017 (Wednesday)

2nd class and Royal Mail signed for the 2nd class

December 21st, 2017 (Thursday) – the last day for 1st class posting at Christmas

The last day for first class post before Christmas is Dec 21st for 1st class, Royal Mail signed for 1st class and Royal Mail special delivery guaranteed

December 22nd, 2017 (Friday)

Royal Mail special delivery. The delivery on Saturday is also guaranteed

The other way of representing the Royal Mail services within the UK is:

19 December (Tuesday) – Royal Mail 48

20 December (Wednesday) – Royal Mail tracked 48, Royal Mail 24

21 December (Thursday) – Royal Mail Special Delivery Guaranteed, Royal Mail Tracked 24

22 December (Friday) – Royal Mail Special Delivery Saturday Guaranteed

The last day for Christmas post for International or overseas are mentioned below:

Here is the information on International Standard and all the International Tracking and Signature services. These are the last posting day for Xmas to post for international standard mail using the services of the Royal Mail:

December 2nd (Saturday)

Africa

Middle East

December 6th (Wednesday)

Far East

Eastern Europe: which does not include the countries like Czech Republic, Poland, and Slovakia

Asia

Cyprus

December 7th (Thursday)

Caribbean

South America

Central America

December 9th (Saturday)

New Zealand

Australia

Greece

December 13th (Wednesday)

Germany

Italy

Czech Republic

Poland

December 14th (Thursday)

Finland

Sweden

Canada

US

December 15th (Friday)

Netherlands

Norway

Iceland

Portugal

Slovakia

Spain

Austria

Denmark

Switzerland

December 16th (Saturday)

Ireland

Luxembourg

Belgium

France

The details on the last posting dates for Christmas international concerning Royal mail international Economy:

Online shopping is one of the best and preferred ways of shopping and getting our work done. We can go online right until the Christmas, but we need to ensure that the presents we send to our friends and relatives go on time through the online way as well.

Christmas Eve is the last day for the normal deliveries and Saturday collection too. Do remember that when you are shopping online, keep some buffer time with you as the retailer may need some additional days to deliver the items to you. Since, the sites like Amazon, Tesco, ASOS, etc. may have their own rules and guidelines, do not forget to check their websites for details.

If you want to order online, here are the Xmas posting dates to order online:

There will be no deliveries or collection on the Christmas Day, Boxing Day, and December 27

Normal deliveries and collection will happen on the dates December 28, 29, 30 and New Year’s Eve

Again, there will be no deliveries or collection on New Year’s Day and January 2

Normal deliveries and collection to resume on January 3 (But not in Scotland)

Normal deliveries and collection on January 4 (everywhere)

The workers at the Royal Mail have been working very hard to gear up for their impending busiest day of the year – Christmas. They wish to make sure that their millions of customers’ Christmas greetings and parcels reach its destination on time. Also, the staff at the Medway Mail Centre sort more than six hundred thousand parcels on this day which is just double of their regular workload. Presently, there are around 430 seasonal staff at the centre over and above the permanent workforce.

In the UK, there are around 20k temporary staff for Royal Mail. Those are specially hired to handle the Christmas rush. The volume of the mails gets triple for this organization when the Christmas approaches. The organization begins the planning as early as in April every year.

You will be surprised to know that last year, the Royal Mail sent more than 138 million parcels during the time of Christmas. Isn’t this eye-popping? Though we do not have a separate data for how many Christmas cards were sent, but as per the market report presented by the Greeting Card Association, it was said that in the UK, around one billion Christmas cards were sold in the year 2016. Further drilling down, this includes around 100 million single cards and an around 900 million sold in boxes and parcels.

Now you know the Christmas post deadlines 2017. On Wednesday, December 20th, last date is for the second-class mail, and December 21st it is for the first-class mail. Hence, the organization appeals to all its customers to post as early as possible to make sure that the cards, letters, and packages reach on time and before the Christmas Day.

Parcelforce Worldwide has also announced its recommended domestic and international last day posting Christmas 2017 for this year Christmas which is Christmas 2017. To check the Christmas posting dates for Parcelforce Worldwide, check the table below:

Starting with, Parcelforce Worldwide International globalexpress:

Date of last posting

Day of last posting

Country/Continent

December 18th

Monday

West Europe

December 19th

Tuesday

Rest of Europe, US / Canada, and Rest of the world

So, the last delivery date for Christmas is Dec 18th, for West Europe

And the last posting date is Dec 19th, for Rest of Europe, US or Canada, and Rest of the World.

Coming to the Parcelforce Worldwide International irelandexpress:

Date of last posting

Day of last posting

Country/Continent

December 20th

Wednesday

Republic of Ireland

As we see in the table above, the Christmas post deadline is Dec 20th, for the Republic of Ireland.

Next is the Parcelforce Worldwide Post Office Christmas posting dates for International globalprority:

Date of last posting

Day of last posting

Country/Continent

December 14th and 15th

Thursday and Friday

West Europe

December 14th

Thursday

US and Canada

November 30th to Dec 15th

Thursday to Friday

Rest of the Europe and Rest of the world

The last posting day is Dec 14th and 15th for West Europe

The last posting day is Dec 14th for US and Canada

The last posting day is Nov 30th to December 15th for Rest of the Europe and ROW

Now talking about Parcelforce Worldwide International globalvalue:

Date of last posting

Day of last posting

Country/Continent

December 11th and 14th

Monday to Thursday

West Europe

December 8th

Friday

US and Canada

November 20th to Dec 14th

Monday to Thursday

Rest of Europe and Rest of the world

The last mail deadlines for Christmas is Dec 11th to 14th for West Europe

The last posting day is Dec 8th for US and Canada

The last posting day is from Nov 20th to December 14th for Rest of Europe and ROW

Parcelforce Worldwide International globaleconomy:

Date of last posting

Day of last posting

Country/Continent

October 16th

Monday

US and Canada

September 29th to Nov 6th

Friday to Monday

Rest of the world

The last posting day is Oct 16th for US and Canada

The last posting day is Sep 29th to Nov 6th for ROW

This year the Christmas Eve is on a Sunday. The drivers of Parcelforce are on their heels to send and deliver all the cards and presents. If you have not yet sent the Christmas gift, and now wish to send the same, to get the delivery before Christmas, you can use the express24 service to do the same. This service will deliver your parcel on 23rd December. To use this service, you will have to pay extra fees of £9.00 Saturday delivery charge. So, it is advised that you must send your package before or on Thursday which is 21st December of this year to use the next-day services, or on Wednesday which is 20th December of this year for availing the two-day services.

This will be better understood with the help of the table below:

Services

22nd Dec delivery

23rd Dec delivery (With £9.00 Saturday delivery charge)

Express 9, Express 10, Express AM, Express PM (Timed Services)

Must be sent by 21st Dec

Not possible

Express 24 (Next day services)

Must be sent by 21st Dec

Must be sent by 22nd Dec

Express 48 and Express 48 large (two days services)

Must be sent by 20th Dec

Not possible

This table implies:

The timed Services like express 9, express 10, express AM, express PM, if you want the delivery on 22nd Dec (Friday), it must be sent latest by 21st December or on Thursday. If you want the delivery on 23rd Dec which will also cost you the £9.00 Saturday delivery charge, then this is not possible.

The next day services like express 24, if you want the delivery on 22nd Dec (Friday), it must be sent latest by 21st December or on Thursday. If you want the delivery on 23rd Dec which will also cost you the £9.00 Saturday delivery charge, then you must send latest by 22nd Dec (Friday).

The two-day Services like express 48 and express 48 large, if you want the delivery on 22nd Dec (Friday), it must be sent latest by 20th December or on Wednesday. If you want the delivery on 23rd Dec which will also cost you the £9.00 Saturday delivery charge, then this is not possible.

The depot opening hours list:

Depot Opening Hours

Date

Status of the depot

23rd December

Normal hours

24th December

Closed

25th December

Closed

26th December

Closed

27th December

Normal hours

28th December

Normal hours

29th December

Normal hours

30th December

Normal hours

31st December

Closed

1st January’18

Closed

2nd January’18

Normal hours (But not in Scotland)

3rd January’18

Normal hours

Conclusion:

In this era of digitalization, sending the handwritten Christmas cards to someone in the family or for a friend is one of the best things you can ever do. And this has been made possible by the carriers like Royal Mail and their determined staff that our festival becomes all the more exciting as the workers at Royal mail continue to spread our love-filled cards all around the country.